A Fine Line
by Min Daae
Summary: I was determined to hate her from the moment I first heard her name... There is a very fine line between enmity and friendship. My spin on how the first meeting with Min and Aviendha might go. Part of my longer Wheel of Time story. ONESHOT, R&R!


_A/N: You may notice after reading this that it seems to start and end in strange places. This is because this will probably end up in my multi-chapter story The Rose Petals on Water, but this oneshot popped into my head and would not let me sleep until I wrote it down. So, enjoy, and read and review!_

I was determined to hate this Aviendha from the moment I first heard her name mentioned in passing, almost, by Elayne.

"Oh, by the way, Aviendha's here with me. She's my sister."

"Sister?" I asked. I wracked my brains for any mention of a sister, and found nothing. "You have a sister?"

Elayne seemed distracted. "Well, not really, I guess. But she will be, as soon as I can find a Wise One. My adopted sister, I guess you could say. And she loves Rand too. She's Aiel."

Maybe she expected this to be a common point, like similar interests; _oh, you enjoy horseback riding too? _And she just announced that an Aiel was going to walk in and steal Rand right out from under my – well, our – noses? Not as though there weren't hundreds or thousands in the city already, but this was different. Until recently, I had thought the Aiel were a legend to frighten gullible children. I was up with my hand on my knife in an instant. "_What!"_

Elayne glanced at me again, looking up from the letters she was busy poring over. She seemed surprised at my reaction. "Of course, you haven't met her yet," she said, seeming to remember. "I'm sure you'll get along fine, Min. She's sort of like you."

I would never believe that. She was probably one of those _female_ warriors. Unnatural, that was. Not that I hadn't dreamed of being a warrior when I was younger. Oh, bother. I was acting like an idiot. I scowled as fiercely as I could at Elayne. "I'm sure she's nothing like me. I'll kill her if she even tries to lay a hand on Rand! I will! And what kind of name is Aviendha, anyway? Is she one of those silly _Maidens?_" I imbued the word with as much scorn as I could.

Elayne's gaze this time was sharper, and she turned around in her chair, prepared to stare me down with that cold, queenly gaze that she had only perfected in Ebou Dar. "I won't have you speaking of or to my sister that way, Min. She's not going to steal Rand. Anyway, I thought that we agreed we were already going to share him, am I right?"

"Well," I protested. "Two is different than three."

"What about Egwene?"

There was no reply to make to that. Elayne was being simply impossible. "Aren't you at all worried that she's going to – oh, I don't know – seduce him or something?" I blushed hotly, and Elayne laughed, but I noted a small note of concern in her eyes.

"Oh, come _on, _Min. Aviendha couldn't seduce a man to save her life. She acts like a boy most of the time anyway. Except for some areas, anyway," she muttered. "Sometimes she can be as immodest as a –" she seemed to think better of what she was going to say and stopped. "Well," she said in a normal tone. "I'm sure you'll be great friends as soon as you get to know her. By the way, is Rand here?"

"No," I said. "To tell the truth, I'm not entirely certain where he is right now. Off Traveling somewhere, no doubt. As usual. And I'm sure not," I added about this wild Aiel girl that I was liking less and less. "I won't _ever _be friends with her."

Elayne gave me a hard look. No doubt she was thinking that she had let me spend a good deal too much time with Rand alone lately. I guessed that my time with him would be greatly reduced after this. Perhaps sharing would not be so nice after all, I thought rather selfishly. "You're as stubborn as ever, Min," she sighed after several moments. "Just be sure that she doesn't maul you too badly."

"Maul me?" I squeaked. "Elayne, I'm not a flipskirt or lady. I know how to use a knife half well – and better than most, if I may say so."

"That may be," Elayne said mildly, returning to her letters. "But Aviendha's an Aiel. She's been training with knives and spears since she was a girl." I was almost certain that that was an exaggeration. Almost. Though some of the legends I had heard would chill the blood… I pushed that out of my mind. As I had so firmly told Elayne, I would hate Aviendha, and that was that. She would not steal Rand from _me, _at any rate.

Though perhaps it would be best if knives did not become involved in our…discussion.

Yes, that would certainly be best. I didn't want to take the chance that I would hurt Elayne's future sister. Or that any of the tales were true, of course. Which they were not. Of course.

Nonetheless, I couldn't quell a bit of nervousness. Would that Rand were around when we met! He wouldn't stand for some Aiel Maiden knifing me.

He didn't love her, did he?

I certainly hoped not. Because I was rather hoping for the chance to knife this Aviendha before she knifed me, but that would not do if it would offend Rand. Perhaps I should try treating this new enemy with peace at first. Peace in terms of weapons, at least. I could fight with words, I was certain, better than this Aiel girl could fight with spear or knife. I would spend some time thinking about how best to wage my attack.

"When is she coming?" I asked Elayne, trying to make my voice casual.

"Coming? Oh, no, she's already here. She came with me. In fact, she's probably just down the hall, getting used to her rooms. You could make a call on her, if you like. Get to know her."

I grinned inwardly. The perfect chance. "Oh, of course," I said innocently. "Just some small talk, casual chat, you know. I'll go meet this Aviendha." I began to saunter casually toward the door. Elayne must have caught something suspicious in my voice, because just as I closed the door I heard her call,

"Be careful, M-"

Fortunately, the door was closed before she could finish her sentence.

I walked down the hall, my mind whirling with insults and jibes already for this Aiel girl, out to steal the man I loved. I scowled and plotted, and when I reached the door I threw it open to see a girl nothing like I had expected.

With Elayne's hints at a fierce warrior, I had expected a tall, ugly and scarred woman, much older than myself, skin leathery from the sun and hair lopped off at her ears in ragged and uneven edges. She would be armed to the teeth, wearing breeches and perhaps a shirt – but if she wore anything at all it would be savage and crude. Despite the fact that the Aiel I had seen around the palace were completely clothed. Perhaps it was unfair of me. I slapped myself mentally. I was still acting like an idiot.

Instead, the girl that turned around, surprised, was a few years younger than me. Her hair was long, and (I grudgingly admitted) rather attractive. It was red, rather similar to Rand's only redder, and her eyes were gray, also like his. She was taller than me, true, but only by a little, and her skin, though calloused in the hands rested neatly on her lap, was not leathery or aged. In fact, she looked very much like the Wise Ones I had seen – long, heavy skirt, loose blouse, wool shawl. And, unfortunately for me and for her, she was beautiful.

It hurt to admit it, but she was. More beautiful than many women I had seen, and I could certainly understand how any man – and most particularly Rand – could find this lovely young woman attractive. I was instantly jealous. So this was the woman plotting to steal my husband-to-be? I had the bad luck that she was pretty, but no doubt she had vices. Bad manners, perhaps, or a tendency to violence (I hoped)? I feared that I was fighting a losing battle. The man I was in love with was, unfortunately, all too easily captured by a pretty face or sweet actions, and had difficulty seeing to the tricks that women pull on men. It was all too easy for some evil wench or selfish whore to sink her claws into him.

I scowled at her immediately, and the first words that flew out of my mouth as she stared at me in surprise were, "Have you done anything to Rand? Cause if you have, I'll have to kill you."

She stared at me, and suddenly a smile broke over her serious face and she laughed. Her laugh was low, rich, and altogether much too seductive for my taste. She looked at my scowl after several moments of laughter and realized that I was not joking. I hated being laughed at. One strike against this intruder already. "Does he belong to you?" she asked, suddenly solemn. "Is he your husband? Elayne did not tell me about you."

Elayne didn't even mention me? What was I, a waitress or a servant? Now I was angry at Elayne, too. "I'm Min Farshaw," I said. "And Elayne told me that you're her sister or something, but even if you are I still have to kill you if you're planning to steal Rand from me…and Elayne," I added as an afterthought.

Aviendha's frown deepened. "He belongs to Elayne," she said slowly. "I swore to protect him for her, but she has agreed that we can share him. She did mention your name, once…"

"Once?" I shrieked, my voice rising in pitch and volume. "I fell in love with Rand before you even met him!"

"Just because you knew him before me is no indication that you deserve him," Aviendha shot back hotly.

"I have more right to him than you, Aiel girl!"

"He's Aiel too, you know, wetlander flipskirt!"

Our conversation quickly degenerated into insults until we both took deep breaths to launch into the fight again and found ourselves laughing at the ridiculous faces we were both making. Soon we were clutching each other and our ribs, bending over with laughter like old friends. At last I let my knees give out from mirth and sat down on a low cushion. Aviendha followed suit. She and I surveyed each other for a time.

"Look at us," I said with a small smile. "Making fools of ourselves over a man like any flirtatious woman. Acting as if we hadn't one brain between us."

Aviendha returned my smile slightly. "If Rand al'Thor walked in right then, he would have been frightened away like a deer. However valorous they are in word, men are cowards when their women are fighting."

I agreed wholeheartedly. "He wouldn't believe that the girls that act so brainless around him could fight so fiercely when they are alone."

"I do not act brainless!" protested Aviendha.

"Oh, come on," I told her, rolling my eyes. "We all do."

"Well," said Aviendha, still looking a little miffed. "You certainly fight like a tiger, Min Farshaw. I certainly hope that I do not have to fight you for Rand al'Thor." The wariness was back, along with a question – would I fight to keep her away from Rand? I noted that her hand was caressing the hilt of her knife, and mine automatically went to one of the hidden weapons in my sleeve.

I forced a laugh. "Or you."

There was a long silence as we both eyed each other, sizing each other up, like strange cats that meet on the street. Tension crackled between us.

"So how did you meet Rand, anyway?" I asked, trying to be as casual as possible.

She looked at me, seeming surprised at the question. "He came to us across the Dragonwall," she said. "I think that that was when I first met him." Simple enough, and innocent enough. Perhaps too innocent. "What about you?" Aviendha returned.

I resisted the urge to smirk. "In Baerlon, just after he first left his village. He was barely off his mother's apron strings, then," I said with a small smile, remembering.

"Sometimes I think that he still is not," Aviendha told me, her face completely solemn. Thinking that she was making a joke, I laughed, but she stared at me with such a straight face that I had to stop.

"You were joking, weren't you?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "You wetlanders have a very odd sense of humor."

"Well, it sounded like a joke," I said, rather offended. "I've heard what you Aiel call humor, and it doesn't make any sense."

"More sense than yours," Aviendha retorted.

"Your jokes aren't even _funny." _I declared stubbornly.

"Neither do yours," said Aviendha fiercely.

I stood up, suddenly angry. "Yes they do!"

"Humor? You wetlanders wouldn't know humor from sand!"

We screamed at each other in that vein for a while, and then I realized that this argument had very little to do with humor any more. We were back to arguing about Rand. I sat down hard again with a sigh. "We're doing it again," I said. "Throwing our brains out the window for a _man._"

Aviendha glanced at me but remained standing. She looked at the window. "My brain is still in my head," she said, looking somewhat confused.

Disgusted, I snorted. "It's an expression."

Aviendha let that pass, and she went up a couple points. But not very many. "I should not be arguing with a woman that may perhaps be my sister-wife, if you truly are Elayne's friend." She looked at me suspiciously.

"Sister-wife?" I asked. Rand might have mentioned something like it to me before, and maybe Elayne too, but it still disgusted me.

Aviendha launched into a long-winded explanation of the concept, but I cut her off quickly. "I know," I said. "I just…hardly know you. It seems kind of…odd…to be married to the same man as a complete stranger. In fact, it's odd to be married to the same man as _anyone _else."

Aviendha raised an eyebrow at me but let that pass as well. She muttered something that sounded like "wetlanders" and watched me, waiting for me to continue the conversation.

"Are you a Wise One?" I asked finally. "I mean, Elayne told me you were one of those Maidens or whatever you call them. But you don't look like the ones I've seen…"

Oddly enough, Aviendha looked offended. "That's odd," she said. "Elayne knows that I am not a Maiden. When did she tell you that?"

"Well, she didn't actually say so, I guess," I said, a little abashed. I had just been assuming a bit at the time. "She just…implied."

Aviendha seemed to be trying not to smile, for some reason. "I am not a Wise One," she said in the air of an adult patiently explaining a simple concept to a rather thick-headed toddler, "I am an apprentice."

"Well, you could hardly expect me to know that. I'm not a scholar of Aiel customs," I muttered under my breath. Aviendha glanced at me but chose to ignore the comment.

There was another long silence. I shifted awkwardly, wondering what to say. The only thing I could think to talk about was Rand, and the question that slipped out of my mouth was, "So, what do you think about Rand?" I winced. That sounded stupid, even to myself. I tried to rephrase the question but found no other way to say it that sounded any better.

Aviendha seemed taken aback by the question. She glanced at me with her gray eyes for several moments, and I had to force myself to hold her gaze. She might have been an apprentice, but she had the same way of looking at you as the other Wise Ones – like a stern aunt who wanted to spank your bottom. "Why do you ask?" she asked warily at last.

"Well, I was just curious as to how another woman sees him," I said slowly, trying to look for a way of talking that didn't make me sound too woolheaded. "I mean, me, for example. Sometimes he can be so silly and stubborn. He needs help but he just refuses to admit it, and this idea that he gets in his head that I can't stay close to him or I'll get hurt, and how he doesn't even think of me as _female…_well, he didn't, not until -" I stopped, blushing. I had certainly said too much. My Aunt Miren always said that my worst habit was letting my tongue run away with me. That, and riding horses astride, but that had nothing to do with the present conversation.

A smile quirked at the corners of Aviendha's mouth. I thought that she knew, or guessed, what I had been about to say, and that smile was much too knowing for my comfort. But I was not going to blurt out any more embarrassing questions. I would not. She hesitated, considering. "Well," she said. "I agree with some of what you say. He does need help, but most men are like that. Even if they were surrounded by hundreds of enemies they would still believe that they could defeat all of them alone. Men have a strange idea of strength. They believe that they must be rigid and hard to be strong, but the oak that stands straight breaks in a windstorm, while the willow bends and does not break. Sorilea is always telling me that strong and hard are two different things, but that men do not understand the difference."

"I haven't heard that saying before," I replied. "But it's a good one, and very true for most men. I've met Sorilea. She reminds me of my aunt Miren sometimes. She is a tough woman."

Aviendha looked mildly terrified at the comparison of Sorilea to an aunt, but also amused. "She is very strong."

"So how did you become Elayne's sister?" I asked, curious about this development of affairs.

"Sometimes I do not understand Elayne," Aviendha remarked. "We were friends, but when I confided in her that I had fallen in love with Rand al'Thor –" I gritted my teeth. "- she insisted that we become sisters. Elayne is a wonderful and brave woman, but sometimes she moves with too much haste. Sometimes it is better to move slowly. What if I had wanted to kill her rather than share Rand al'Thor? Not that I would, of course," she added hurriedly. "But I am glad to have the chance to become her sister."

"It seems like men twist everything we know into knots," I said darkly.

"That is true. Sorilea always says that women must be careful or men will bend them into twists and their brains will be gone before they know it."

I nodded, and stood up, ready to go. Perhaps I was not entirely ready to accept this woman as I had accepted Elayne, to share Rand with her, but at least perhaps we could be allies.

Although I was not entirely certain of that yet.

Aviendha nodded at me as I went out. "I am not certain yet, Min Farshaw, but you seem like a strong woman to me. I would be glad to know you better, and perhaps we will be sister-wives yet."

I smiled wanly. "Maybe." Not if I had anything to do with it. Two might be tolerable, but three would be one too many.


End file.
